Gotta Love Hoops Players

A recent article for Page 2 at ESPN has got me thinking. Can you name a college basketball player who has been universally disliked, even by his team’s own fans? It would be pretty hard to come up with one, right? Even for players who have been known for major screw-ups, college basketball players and college football players generally don’t have the pressure of being disliked by their own fans. Take, for instance, Chris Webber. He famously called a timeout when Michigan didn’t have one and lost a huge game for them. It has been haunting him ever since. But if he had stayed around for another season at Michigan I don’t think that fans would have given up on him or booed him.

There are a couple of reasons why. First off, there is a certain amount of reluctance to put negative energy into a player- especially if he is going to be gone in four years, max. If you don’t like a player you aren’t stuck with him. Secondly, there is no exchange of money so there is little resentment for a lack of performance. Also, college hoops has typically been more about teams than individual players, so you would find more resentment for Bobby Knight than any player. Isn’t it great to be a fan of hoops?

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Permalink - Posted in General on September 17, 2007 - Post a comment